August 24, 2007
Allergies In Historical Perspective
Allergic diseases are often viewed as modern day ailments—in part because there has been an increase in the number of individuals affected, but also because allergy awareness has increased dramatically. Before the 20th century, the symptoms of allergic reactions would come and go, seemingly triggered by invisible causes. Because of the mysterious nature of allergies, ancient people believed that reactions were brought about by evil spirits, curses
Food allergies and anaphylactic tendencies also plagued the ancient world. Menes (c. 3100-3000, BC), the first true Pharaoh of Egypt, was said to have died after being stung by a wasp—this was the first recorded occurrence of anaphylactic shock. Richard the III (1452-1485) was allergic to strawberries, and in order to legitimize the murder of his ex-best friend, Lord William Hastings (1431-1483), Richard secretly snacked on the berries prior to a formal meeting with Hastings. The typical burning discomfort, hives and swelling that is characteristic of food allergies was claimed by Richard to be a curse placed on him by Hastings, and as a result Lord William fell victim to the misunderstood symptoms of allergies.
1869: Charles Blackley performed the first allergy test on himself, by putting pollen directly into a cut in his skin.


1906: Clemens von Pirquet created a new word to describe the non-disease symptoms exhibited by diphtheria patients when they were serum containing horse proteins. This word was “allergy”.

1911-1914: The groundwork for modern-day immunotherapy (allergy shots) was developed by Leonard Noon and John Freeman. Immunotherapy consists of introducing small amounts of allergen into the body (through shots) and gradually increasing the amount until the body is no longer sensitive.

1937: Daniel Bovet developed the first synthesized antihistamine.



1953: James F. Riley and Geoffrey B. West discovered the mast cell and found its tie to allergies as a major source of histamine. Apparently, their research was successful because of a ten-year-old cocker spaniel named Judy. The dog had a mast cell tumor and gave the researchers the highest histamine content ever recorded.
1967: The role of IgE Class Antibodies was first indentified by Kimishige and Teruko Ishizaka. IgE is one of the elements that come into play when a person first develops allergic sensitivity.

1980: Professor Bengt I Sameulsson received the Nobel Prize for his research on leukotrienes—this greatly increased the understanding of how the body’s own “mediators” in asthma, allergies and inflammation.
In over a century in a half, the understanding of atopic diseases has progressed from mysterious, seemingly erratic disease to a carefully conducted mechanism. For more information on this topic, visit Wellcome Trust's (an independant charity that fund research for improvements in human and animal health) webpage.




1 Comment on Allergies In Historical Perspective »
August 25, 2007
As a lifelong sufferer from allergies, I can't tell you how much I enjoy the insights presented in your blog. I've often wondered whether allergies were merely a modern phenomenon or whether they've been around for a long while. Kudos on the fine research and presentation!